Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 153 Konoha Daily Life

The morning sky was gray. A few drops of rain fell through the thin mist, but as the sun returned, the damp earth quickly dried again. The mist dissipated, and sunlight streamed into every household, including onto the face of someone still lazing in bed. The person in bed frowned slightly, rolled over with their eyes closed, and retreated back into the shadows, but the alarm clock was anything but gentle, its blaring loud enough to warrant a complaint if there were neighbors.

Naruto rolled over again, his feet barely touching the cold floor in his dazed state. He took a few steps, swatted out the alarm clock, and climbed back into bed. He hadn't opened his eyes the entire time, nor was he fully awake; the sacrificed sleep always seemed to return to the capricious guy in another form. The room was quiet for about ten minutes before the man in bed suddenly opened his eyes. The drowsiness instantly vanished from his blue eyes. He hurriedly jumped out of bed and rushed into the bathroom, forgetting to throw his fast food breakfast into the stove along the way.

"Nine Lama, why didn't you call me?" someone complained to themselves while brushing their teeth.

"Heh." Nine-Tailed Fox rolled over. "I think someone who hasn't slept properly for three days shouldn't get up after only five hours of lying down."

"I promised Konohamaru and the others that I would teach them ninjutsu."

"It's not like we can't make that kid wait for a few hours. Kakashi does that all the time, doesn't he?"

"I'm not Kakashi-sensei."

"Heh." Nine-Tailed Fox didn't know where to begin his rant, and started swishing his tail in a fit of rage. "How about I blow up your house and send you to jail for a few days? Surely no one will bother you there then."

This dangerous idea was not put into practice. Naruto still appeared on the training ground fully prepared, a sandwich slightly warmed up with his Fire Release technique dangling from his mouth. The three children were already waiting near the wooden stakes, and as soon as they saw Naruto, they noisily surrounded him.

"Good morning, Naruto-nii-san!"

"Everyone is very punctual."

Seeing the energetic children, my gloomy mood, which had been lingering for days, finally lifted. Naruto ruffled everyone's hair, then knelt down to hand out his welcome gifts. Moegi got a new hair tie, Udon got a handkerchief to wipe his snotty nose, and Konohamaru got a short scarf that wouldn't trip him up—in his favorite blue color.

Of course, this touch of gentleness does not change the hardship of the training.

Naruto challenged the three children to a full-force attack to test their abilities, and the result was, of course, unremarkable. For ten-year-olds, their fundamentals were solid, and they had no bad habits, clearly indicating they had received excellent training. Ebisu, while a bit foul-mouthed, was a competent teacher. However, he lacked Naruto's vast knowledge of ninjutsu; he could readily use the five elemental ninjutsu, and even if he couldn't recall them immediately, he could always call for backup.

"Water, fire, earth? These are completely unrelated attributes." Naruto stood still, letting the three children attack him.

Konohamaru's Fire Release technique was blocked by the rotating Water Wall. The ground beneath his feet suddenly cracked, but the cracks stopped spreading amidst scattered lightning. Udon's shuriken was thrown at just the right moment, when the water vapor obscured the view, but the person didn't even dodge. He calmly blew a breath, and the strong wind interfered with the trajectory of the shuriken and dispersed the water vapor that was obscuring his vision.

After three rounds of effort, Naruto's chakra and stamina were completely depleted. Moegi and Konohamaru were panting heavily, supporting themselves on their legs, while Udon plopped down on the ground. Three rounds later, they still hadn't managed to ruin Naruto's hairstyle, let alone get him to move an inch.

“They’re from completely different dimensions…” Udon murmured.

"As expected of Naruto's older brother." Konohamaru's eyes shone even brighter.

"Wow, that's amazing..." Menghuang's excitement was palpable.

Naruto maintained his smile but said, "Udon, stand up. You're a ninja. Even if you're about to collapse, you must remain vigilant until you're sure you're in a safe environment. This isn't just for your own life, but also so your teammates don't have to be distracted by you."

Udon jolted awake and scrambled to his feet, his legs still trembling. "I'm...I'm sorry..."

"However, you timed your move very well. You know your teammates well and are good at analyzing situations. Konohamaru and Moegi were too negligent in this regard, especially you, Konohamaru."

Konohamaru pouted, "It was Naruto himself who told us to attack."

"Attacks don't always have to be head-on. Probe, analyze, and then attack. You're skipping the first two steps. Who burns half their chakra right from the start?" Naruto tugged at Konohamaru's spiky ponytail, then turned to Moegi.

"Your technique is very interesting; it's a binding technique, isn't it?"

Moegi nodded. "It's Earth Release: Fine Stone. If you can use it to its full potential, it can trap people in the ground."

Naruto said, "This is indeed a very useful ninjutsu, but it is not recommended to use it when the difference in chakra between oneself and the opponent is too great."

He had taught children in his previous life, but due to his unique identity, he had never led his own genin squad, only occasionally serving as a teacher at the ninja academy. Although he had taught Konohamaru, he mostly let him grow freely. He always felt quite regretful about this. After arriving in the New World, he gradually became busier and busier, with little time to teach the numerous hungry children at the base, leaving everything to his seniors.

Speaking of teaching children, Sasuke and Boruto are pretty much on par. Sarada, such a well-behaved child, basically learned on her own, and Boruto is in a similar situation... Hmph, indeed, professional tasks should be handled by professionals.

Sasuke... Fukuhide and the others made it out of Fukuhide Castle safely, and the Land of Rice Fields received his report of returning to the village. I wonder if he'll include this in his letter? He should at least write a reply that's more than a page long!

While he was lost in thought, the children still needed to be taught. Considering their age, Naruto taught them the Second Hokage's version of the Water Wall, the Rock Concealment Technique which allowed them to move through the ground, and the Flame Meteor Technique, which consumed less energy and was easier to control. Of course, these techniques couldn't be mastered overnight; they needed to practice at home and familiarize themselves with them before they could use them in actual combat.

When they finished their meal at Ichiraku and parted ways, Ebisu, who had been hiding in the back, finally emerged. This conscientious teacher seemed afraid that he would corrupt the child, but was intimidated by Naruto's strength, so he had no choice but to follow him.

"Naruto Uzumaki".

Naruto stopped, looking at the guy who had jumped out and called him by his full name with a puzzled expression. He couldn't understand the surging emotions on that guy's face; they were mostly resentment, mixed with a tiny bit of shame. Being able to read emotions didn't mean understanding people's hearts, and he couldn't figure out what this guy was up to.

"sorry!"

A deep bow startled Naruto so much that he almost flew off, but Ebisu was even faster. This guy inexplicably came over, apologized, and then disappeared.

...I don't understand, I really don't understand, what exactly did he wrong?